U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration have spent much of the past year and a half pushing against efforts by powers from outside the Western Hemisphere to exert influence in the region, even declaring a “Trump Corollary” to the Monroe Doctrine. China, however, has not easily ceded influence to the United States. Last week, Chinese leader Xi Jinping made a direct policy statement regarding Latin America, insisting that the region should be able to choose its allies “without outside interference.” Xi’s statement was a clear swipe at recent U.S. policy. Just as important as his words was the setting of his statement: a meeting with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, who was in China for an eight-day state visit.
Under Noboa, Ecuador has firmly aligned itself with Washington. In March 2025, while campaigning for reelection, Noboa visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago and publicized a photo of their meeting, creating the appearance of an endorsement. Noboa’s rhetoric comparing local gangs to terrorists and going to war with them made him a natural ally for the administration’s heavily militarized counter-cartel policies. He was one of the first leaders to join Trump’s Shield of the Americas program and agree to U.S. military strikes on his own country’s territory. He’s cheered on Trump’s Venezuela policies as well. And just like Trump, Noboa took on former Colombian President Gustavo Petro and imposed tariffs on Colombia as retribution for what he believed was bad policy from a left-wing leader.
Yet despite those warm ties with the U.S., Noboa has made two trips to China in the past 14 months. Bilateral trade between Ecuador and China hit $17.3 billion last year, up 24 percent from 2024. Ecuadorian exports to China grew over 20 percent in the first half of this year, and China is likely to surpass the U.S. as Ecuador’s largest trading partner in the coming months. And Chinese companies are expanding into the country’s copper mining sector, buying stakes from U.S., European and Canadian firms.